


City Of Gods

by Ragingstillness



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Lucifer (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, I got convinced to write it by some excited frostironstrange ppl on the discord, I have legit no idea what this is, M/M, Multi, Rating May Change, also maria hill is a butch lesbian just so u know, i don't make the rules, we'll have to see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 04:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragingstillness/pseuds/Ragingstillness
Summary: A routine favor for SHIELD reveals some truths for Tony Stark that he was definitely not expecting.





	City Of Gods

They picked Loki up in the City of Angels. Or rather, Tony did, after a very tense conversation with Fury, culminating in Tony pulling up a 3D view of the location where Loki’s magic was emanating from and raising an eyebrow at Fury’s team of agents and their very obvious guns. Fury’s voice sounded now, in Tony’s ear, as per their compromise, serenading Tony’s flight to LA.

“Remind me again why I agreed to this stupid-ass plan and didn’t just send a team in, Stark?”

Tony laughed. “Because it’s Lux! The most exclusive private club in all of LA. A no name agent with no genuine ID wouldn’t even get into the line. Tony Stark, on the other hand, is blessed with quite the image, and therefore, is much more likely to be seen there.”

Fury scoffed. “Are you sure even you will be able to get in? That playboy reputation you’re banking on has taken some hits in recent years.”

“No worries chief. I can fake it with the best of them.”

Fury muted the channel from his end and didn’t come back on until Tony was about half an hour from LA proper.

“We’ve done some preliminary research on this place. The owner is an eccentric man by the name of Lucifer Morningstar.” Fury said the name the same way one would pronounce an unfamiliar scientific genus for a particularly disgusting spider.  Tony almost laughed in spite of himself. “Are you familiar with him, Stark? He sounds like one of your old crew.”

“Never met him. But I’ve heard his name before. Passed around in various interesting circles, almost as a joke. He’s surprisingly reclusive for someone with an extravagant reputation, very grounded in LA.”

“That’s in line with what we have. He’s known for throwing ridiculous parties, often breaking laws, and being a bit of a, well.” Tony perked up. Fury, hesitant? He thought he’d never see that day. Fury cleared his throat and continued. “The official report, from an agent who will soon find himself looking for work, says Morningstar’s a ‘manwhore.’”

Tony laughed. “I’m sure we’ll be friends then.”

“Stark you can’t take this man lightly. He’s been linked to more than just the beds of half of LA. People say he’s got an almost hypnotizing quality; he draws people in. If it wasn’t for the timing, I’d almost assume he was Loki in disguise. Lucifer has also been loosely linked to several violent crimes, but nothing will stick, and he’s recently painted himself as an unruly consultant for the LAPD, so he’s got a thick buffer between him and the courts.”

Tony nodded, although Fury couldn’t see him. “I’ll be careful Nicky. Got my bracelets and my suit, just in case I need them.”

“I’m handing you over to Hill for the actual mission parameters. Loki or not, I’m still Director of SHIELD. I got shit to do.”

The line crackled. Tony winced at the low tech. Then Maria Hill’s deadpan voice came through the speaker. “Paging Mr. Stark.”

“Loud and clear Maria.”

“Stark, you are undertaking this mission not as Tony Stark but as an official member of the Avengers. A little professionalism, please.”

“You know me better than to hope for that, Hill.”

Maria sighed. “Alright. Land and get your butt into a nice suit. I’ll brief you at 2000 hours, an hour before Lux opens.”

“Over and out!” Tony giggled as Hill’s sigh came down the line then went quiet.

The landing was uneventful. Airport stewards practically fell over themselves tending to his needs although security wasn’t quite so starstruck.

Ensconced in a hotel two hours later, Tony tugged on his black tie in the mirror. Clubbing. He was going clubbing. In a ridiculously expensive, infamous club, but it was clubbing all the same. Did that mean tie on, or tie off?

“No tie, Stark.”

Tony jumped. “Hill?”

The reception was much better through the earpiece now that they were in LA. Maybe the Wi-Fi was better, or more likely the actual SHIELD encampment was closer by. He hadn’t heard the crackle that signified the feed opening. “Have you been listening the whole time? Kinky, Hill.”

He heard her huff a reluctant laugh. “Cool it, Stark. No tie. But don’t go for the ‘I’m going to a classy funeral.’ Try the white shirt with the red suit jacket, not the black.”

“How do you know what’s in my suitcase?”

“I’m kinky Stark.”

Tony bit his lip to suppress the remark he wanted to make. He tried the red jacket. It created a dangerous contrast to the darkness of his eyes and the matte black of his pants.

“I approve. Debrief me, Hill.” He made sure to use his most seductive tone on debrief, as if he didn’t know that Maria was a proud butch lesbian and wouldn’t be interested in him for a second.

“Save the innuendo for the club. You’re going to get in line about half an hour after the club opens. You’re, in your words, ‘Tony-freaking-Stark’ so we’re trusting you to get in on your own. Once you’re in, the camera in your contact lenses will activate. We’ll see what you see. Be on guard. We’re not just looking out for the odd club owner, this is Loki. Like, destruction of New York, technically an alien Loki. You are not to engage the target if you spot him. The goal is to confirm he’s there, pretend to miss him in all the dancers, and then let the team come in to raid the place. You’ll be stationed outside at one of the more obvious exits, placed to catch Loki if he tries to escape.”

“Sounds good to me. I don’t fancy having to interact with old Reindeer Games any more than I have to. Lux is housed in quite the tall building, and I’ve already got my year’s supply of chocolate from my punch card on getting thrown out of windows in tall buildings.”

“Sometimes I daydream about how your mind works, Stark. And then suddenly I’m very afraid.”

“All part of the charm.”

“Speaking of charm, you’re to remain flirty, but aloof tonight Stark. We can’t very well read a one-night stand into the program halfway through.”

“My one-nighter days are over Hill. Haven’t you heard, I have a heart condition. Makes me long for romantic, long-term monogamous relationships. I’m afraid the condition’s terminal.”

“Why do I put up with you?”

“Because I’m the only member of the Avengers who will go to Pride with you?”

“There it is.”

Tony was outside Lux exactly on time. He stepped out of the flashy car he’d purchased for the occasion and put on his most dazzling smile, winking over his sunglasses at the paps outside the club.

Tony bypassed the line entirely and approached the bouncer. He got an unimpressed glance. “You’re not on the list.”

“I’m Tony Stark.”

The man put a hand up to his earpiece. Then he stepped aside. “Welcome to Lux, Mr. Stark.”

Tony flashed the ladies in line a cheeky grin and stepped inside. He was immediately confronted with the impression that if he was still into clubbing, he would have felt right at home here. The door opened up onto a large, vaguely circular dance floor, where people were grinding and laughing and drinking under a soft green haze that hung over the whole room. To his right there was a long bar, with several bartenders manning the spigots.

The dance space was bracketed by a long staircase, leading up to a set of gold elevator doors. Scattered throughout the area were various random stages, some large enough to accommodate small music groups, others with just enough space for a leather clad dancer to amuse the patrons on the semicircular couch around it.

Tony was pleasantly surprised to see both male and female dancers, and a shockingly varied clientele. People were making out in various shadowed corners, as people in clubs do, and there was every possible combination of hair color, body type, gender expression, and race Tony could think of.

A thick bass pounded through the club, harsh enough to add to the atmosphere without blowing out eardrums, but Tony wasn’t convinced this was the limit of the club’s musical charm. The largest stage, set behind the main floor, was capped off by a gorgeous piano, black, lacquer shining so bright Tony imagined he could see his face in it. He wondered if the owner played.

A couple people recognized Tony, and he gave them a quick set of nods and winks before making his way to the bar. He moved his head from side to side as he went, taking in as much of the space as he could.

Hill’s voice muttered in his ear. “Good Stark, good,” like he was some disobedient puppy.

He stopped in front of an absolutely stunning female bartender. She had coffee colored skin that looked even darker under the lights and thick eyeliner. Her outfit was made entirely of leather and silver studs. She moved like she knew what her body looked like and was fully capable of using it.

“Scotch, on the rocks please.”

“Easy to please. I like it.” She smirked at him, which he found rather odd, then turned around to prepare his drink.

He took advantage of the moment to scan the club again, getting more caninesque encouragement from Hill.

“Here you are Mr. Stark.”

Tony blinked at the bartender. “Did I give you my name?”

“No, but you didn’t have to.” She crossed her arms and leaned on the bar. “I’ll level the playing field. Mazikeen Smith. If you’re looking for the boss, he’ll be down in a minute. He always comes around to plunk out a song or two.”

Tony blinked. She was very, um, discerning. Alarm bells began to ring softly in the back of his head. What if this Mr. Morningstar was indeed Loki? It wasn’t too difficult to fake an identity these days. Or if he was an ally? Loki could have tipped him off. Tony tugged on a cufflink, ostensibly adjusting its fit but actually making sure his bracelets were on and locked.

“Thank you. I’ll wait for him.”

Tony took his drink and strode off, making for a seat that still had a decent view of the rest of the club. He began to genuinely look, not just sweep, the assembled crowd, keeping an eye out for Loki. There were just so many people. And with the lights so low, lots of the women and some of the men looked like they had long dark hair with a slight curl.

A cheer went up from the drunken crowd, and Tony looked up. His breath caught in his throat. Descending the staircase and waving like a generous philanthropist at an awards ceremony, was the most gorgeous man Tony had ever seen. Tony had made no secret of his bisexuality throughout the years, but never before had his attraction to men felt so strong and so immediate.

The man was tall, taller even than Steve, Tony would guess, with short black hair, slicked back loosely to his scalp, and he was dressed in a simple navy button-down and tight black slacks. Very tight black slacks. Tony swallowed.

The man’s charisma sparkled from across the room, drawing everyone into his orbit. His facial hair was remarkably similar to Tony’s own style but cut closer to the root, so he had less of a real beard and instead a stunningly attractive five o’clock shadow. Male beauty, epitomized in a single form.

Tony spoke quietly. “Hill, are you certain we couldn’t fit a one-night stand into the mission plan?”

“Concentrate Stark. We’re looking for Loki.”

“Well that’s not him.”

“How do you know?”

“Loki’s eyes are green. Disturbingly so.”

“You can tell his eye color from across the room?”

“I’d recognize Loki’s eyes anywhere.”

“Now who’s the stalker, Stark?”

“Thor told me Loki can change everything except his eye color when he transforms. And my nightmares tend to give me a refresher.”

The mood soured, and the line went silent. The crowd parted before the man, Lucifer probably (Tony understood fully why such a man would take the name of the devil), and suddenly Tony could see to the other side of the dance floor. There, speaking to a blonde woman with her hair in a ponytail, was Loki. He had opted to look more businessman-letting-his-hair-down than renaissance faire, but it was still unavoidably him.

“Hill, I’ve got eyes on Loki.”

“Me too. Make a round or two then leave Stark. We’ll send the order when you’re out of the building.”

“Gotcha.” Tony made to walk around the side of the room Loki wasn’t on when something caught his eye. The chaos surrounding Lucifer had cooled down and the blonde woman had left Loki’s side. Without touching anyone, Lucifer glided through the crowd, right to Loki. Tony tensed. Would he be outed as a spy? What was going to happen?

What did happen was the opposite of what Tony expected. Lucifer sidled up to Loki and, with what looked like a sigh, slid his arm around Loki’s waist. He pulled the Asgardian’s body back against his and leaned down an inch or so to speak into Loki’s ear.

Tony blinked. “That’s new,” he said aloud.

Hill grunted. Loki leaned his head back towards Lucifer, brushing his cheek against the other’s. Tony’s eyes widened. Loki didn’t seem like the cuddly, friendly physical affection type. And he had made no secret of his distaste for mortals.

For a moment Tony entertained the possibility that Lucifer might be the actual devil, or another alien. He dismissed the thought with a mental scoff.

Whatever Loki said, it caused Lucifer to slide his free hand up Loki’s arm and into his hair, drawing him even closer. From a purely aesthetic view, it was an erotic image. Tony could appreciate two good looking guys, dressed like casual models, whispering at intimate quarters. That was, if you could completely and utterly forget who they were. And Tony didn’t have that luxury.

Lucifer whispered something else that caused the corner of Loki’s mouth to go up, then he nodded. Lucifer drew back, but he took Loki’s hand, leading him through the crowd. Tony shifted position to avoid being seen. The pair rounded the bannister and disappeared up the stairs to the elevator.

“Well.”

“Well what Stark? I’m still waiting on you to get out of there.”

“Yeah but, uh, are you sure you want to ruin Loki’s one-night stand as well as mine?”

“Not to be crude, but he could be up on the top floor in a leather bondage suit, mid-sex, and we’d still go in. He’s a criminal. We’re not going to let him go just because the timing is awkward.”

Tony laughed softly. “I imagine. Or not, I’d rather not.”

**Author's Note:**

> I will be the first to say that I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just putting this story out here, not knowing if I'll ever finish it or not, I just wanted to get it finally off my computer and into my account. Maybe if I post drafts of my WIPs I'll convince myself to actually work on them.


End file.
